The woman who thrives in the company of wolves was well into middle age before she answered the call of the wild.

Shelley Coldiron, the executive director of the WOLF Sanctuary northwest of Fort Collins, was an entrepreneur and chemistry teacher at Iowa State University when she decided to leave that life behind and devote herself to protecting wolves.

A self-described adrenaline junkie, Coldiron is an avid hiker who enjoys rock climbing and bouldering.

At 60, she is a sort of de facto den mother to 28 wolves and wolf-dogs, many of them rescued from roadside zoos or given up by owners who could no longer handle them.

Coldiron, who took over as the sanctuary’s executive director this year, finds her charges endlessly fascinating, but never forgets that they are wild animals.

“Some of them might be tame, but they are by no means domesticated,” she says. “You don’t ever make them feel cornered. They are really smart and good problem-solvers.”

THE WOLF SANCTUARY

The sanctuary sits on a dirt lane two miles off the road leading up Rist Canyon, about 30 minutes from the community of Laporte. Run as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, WOLF (Wolves Offered Life and Friendship) has the capacity to provide lifetime sanctuary for up to 30 wolves and wolf-dogs.

Many of the animals come from backgrounds where they were abused by humans. Establishing trust with them, or at least a semblance of it, is crucial for Coldiron and her five employees.

The wolves are spayed and neutered upon arrival — Coldiron loathes the breeding programs that are essentially puppy farms for mega-predators. The wolves are kept in groups of two and sometimes three, depending on their sociability.

The wolves have the run of fenced-in pens ranging from a half-acre to 1.5 acres, and have the forest floor underneath their paws and large pine canopies above their heads.

WOLF is underwritten by donations and in-kind contributions, including game meat from local hunters.

This year’s High Park wildfire burned down several buildings and enclosures at the sanctuary, but Coldiron and her crew managed to evacuate all the wolves.

Question: Why wolves?

Answer: I’ve always been interested in canines. My grandmom said that as a girl I would run after dogs. I’m fascinated by wolves and always wanted to be involved in a sanctuary. WOLF was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I’m kind of living my dream now.

Q: Talk about the bond between you and the wolves.

A: When you come here the first time to see and hear them, it’s magical. They capture your heart and steal your soul. They’re so majestic and beautiful that you fall immediately in love with them.

Q: Historically, the wolf has been a demonized animal. What accounts for that?

A: It’s primarily the stereotyping of them as vicious animals, and farmers and ranchers want to blame something for the loss of livestock. Wolves kill only to eat and only have about a 10 percent success rate on hunts.

Q: Have you ever been bitten?

A: Never.

Q: Do you have to remind yourself not to anthropomorphize them?

A: Yes. I think that’s part of the problem with some sanctuaries. They try to project their feelings on these animals. They don’t speak our language. The best thing we can do for these guys is respect their nature and give them space to live out their lives.

Q: What is your greatest fear?

A: It’s not for me but what we’re doing to Mother Earth. We’re not outside of nature and we’re fouling our home.

Q: What is your current state of mind?

A: I’m happy, though I’m concerned about people and animals who don’t have a voice.

A: I think the cartoon character The Tick. He’s a big, goofy guy who always wanted to save mankind but didn’t quite have it together. And Bugs Bunny and Road Runner.

Q: What is your most obvious characteristic?

A: I’m hyper. I have an inexhaustible amount of energy.

Q: What trait do you most deplore in others?

A: Dishonesty, greed and deception.

Q: What trait do you most dislike in yourself?

A: I can be very gullible and too trusting sometimes and it comes back and bites me later.

Q: What is your greatest extravagance?

A: I’m not the type of person who really overindulges in anything. I can’t sit still long enough anyway.

Q: Your favorite journey?

A: I like to get into the car and go as far into the mountains as possible and look at nature unspoiled. I love the smell of the air and the trees.

Q: What phrase do you most overuse?

A: Um.

Q: What quality do you most admire in a man?

A: Honesty and being able to be in touch with his feelings and talking to you about them and not putting on a show. And being unselfish.

Q: What quality do you most admire in a woman?

A: Strength.

Q: How would you like to die?

A: If I know I’m terminally ill, I’d go as far up as I can without a parachute, then jump and enjoy the ride down. I’d want my ashes mixed with those of my “babies” and spread on a mountain where the snow never melts.

Q: What is your motto?

A: What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others lives on and is immortal.

Wolfsanctuary.net or 970-416-9531

William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp

Restaurant critic William Porter is a feature writer at The Denver Post, where he covers food, culture and people. He joined the news outlet in 1997. Before that, he spent 14 years covering politics and popular culture at The Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic. He is a native of North Carolina.

Heather Bean built a market for her whiskey, rum and vodka with a cartoonish kayaking avatar of herself stuck to every bottle of Greeley-made Syntax Spirits Distillery. But to kick it up a notch, she’s rebranding her craft spirits.

Dear Amy: My brother-in-law and I don’t have a particularly good relationship, and one of the sticking points is gun ownership. He believes in the right to carry (openly), and I think guns should be carried only by police. Every time I ask him not to bring guns near our family (we have three young children), he gets unbelievably offended....